


Tower 93

by fadedlikethelilac



Category: Discworld - Terry Pratchett
Genre: Accidental Death, Book: Going Postal, Children, Clacks, Evil Corporations, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-05-20 02:37:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19368325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fadedlikethelilac/pseuds/fadedlikethelilac
Summary: Everyone knew it happened. Actually, the new management probably didn’t, but wouldn’t havedone anything about it if they found out, apart from carefully forgetting that they’d known. Kids didn’tneed to be paid.





	Tower 93

**Author's Note:**

> I have half a dozen different discworld fics planned, all of them WAY nicer than this, serveral of them with Vampires and lesbians. Instead this attacks me out of nowhere while I was listening to going postal... Well enjoy. Just please I'm not kidding when I say MAJOR character death, 2/3 of the cast dies, and that's the whole plot. 
> 
> Once again, thanks to Mogseltof for correcting my terrible grammar and spelling.

_“Only two lads were up there, where there should’ve been three. One of them went out in a gale to budge a stuck shutter, which he shouldn’t’ve done, and fell off and got his safety rope tangled around his neck. So the other bloke rushed out to get him, without his safety rope—which he shouldn’t’ve done—and they reckon he got blown right off the tower.”_

_“That’s horrible,” said Moist. “Not creepy, though. As such.”_

_“Oh, you want the creepy bit? Ten minutes after they was both dead the tower sent a message for help. Sent by a dead man’s hand.”_

  


Jonesy never told anyone where he’d been that day or what he’d seen. The reports all said there had only been two lads on the tower, budget cuts and all. And well there had only been two grand trunk employees on the tower that day. Jonesy had been there as well. He was 14 and like a fair number of kids, he liked the towers. It was safe and quiet in the towers. He didn’t have to worry about his dad in the tower. 

On the day in question he’d been working the upline, while Kate and Mouse argued about what to do about the stuck shutters on the downline. Wind was howling through the tower rattling the shutters, Jonesy could feel the whole tower swaying just slightly beneath him, but it was a nice feeling. 

Mouse wanted to swing the stuck shutter out and replace it, but that would take time, time they didn’t have. Kate was adamant she could get it unstuck if she could just get her hands on it. Eventually Mouse relented they didn’t have the time, messages were piling up. 

Jonesy wasn’t watching as Kate secured her safety harness or when she swung out to unstick the shutter. He was listening though, and what he heard was a twang of a rope going tight, and a cutoff scream. Mouse was cursing like crazy, and it was then that Jonesy turned around. Kate was hanging from the tower, her safety line twisted around her throat. Choking. Jonesy stood paralysed, unable to move, barely able to breath, his throat constricted. Kate was going to die. 

Mouse wasn’t though. He didn’t even stop to put his harness on as he rushed, still cursing, to help Kate. More curse words than Jonesy had ever heard before, not that he was really paying attention to them. His eyes were riveted to Kate, and the soft choking noise. 

Mouse went to grab a hand hold, at the exact same moment the tower swayed and he missed, he was moving too fast though. They were too high up for Jonesy to properly hear the sound of Mouse hitting the ground. Kate had fallen silent now too. 

It was a good eight minutes before Jonesy could bring himself to move. Slowly, mechanically, he sent the distress signal. 

 

Then he left. He wasn’t supposed to have been there after all. 


End file.
